5th of December, 1996
Brooklyn and Janet are 30, Michael is 38

Michael: "Brandon, I swear, if you tell him you're fired." Frank said loudly as I walked into my hotel suite after a great lunch.

He and Brandon were fighting in the other room.

"Jesus, Frank, there are things that are way more important than this tour!" Brandon yelled back.

I walked into the little living room, "Um, what's up?"

"Mike!" he exclaimed. "Good, you're here. We're going home, right now. I already arranged a plane to take us."

"What happened?" I asked, feeling my palms getting sweaty.

"Brooke passed out. Janet hadn't updated me yet, but we have to get home." he answered.

That brought tears to my eyes.

My worries soon exchanged with anger.

I turned to Frank who tried to avoid my angry gazes.

"You wanted to keep this information from me?! ME! You do realize this is my wife and son, right?" I screamed, ready to charge at him.

"We can't cancel anymore shows, Mike." he mumbled.

"I'm the damn boss, I decide what we can or can't do. I'm staying at home until after Christmas, make sure that happens."

Brandon pulled me by my arm and soon we were in a car.

I bounced my leg nervously on the way to be airport. Brandon's ringtone startled me since I wasn't paying attention to anything around me.

"It's Janet." he told me, holding the phone out.

I grabbed it and put it to my ear.

"Dunk, what's going on? Is she okay? What about the baby?"

"I just got to the hospital, Mike. I promise I'll call when I know something." my sister said.

"Why does she need to go to the damn hospital?!" I screamed.

The phone was snatched away from me by Brandon.

"Call me if anything changes." he said into the device and hung up.

I covered my face with my hands and let out a deep sigh.

He patted my back, "Mike, she's perfectly fine, I promise."

~

Janet: We've been at the hospital the whole night, and they were still telling us nothing.

I couldn't help but feel guilty about this. Maybe if I went with her we wouldn't have been here.

"Why aren't they telling us anything?" Jermaine asked, obviously irritated.

Just then a doctor came into the room, making us all scatter to him.

"She's awake. Her blood pressure was off the charts, but we were able to stable it. The baby is absolutely fine. I'm still kind of worried, so I sent her to do an ultrasound. You should be able to see her in a few minutes. I'm allowing two people for now, I don't want her to be overwhelmed. She's still a little off." he informed.

Joshua attacked him in an unexpected hug and thanked him.

Everyone agreed that both of us should go see how Brooke was doing.

~

Brooklyn: My eyes were watering as I looked at my baby on the screen.

"So he's okay?" I asked the nurse who applied pressure on my bump.

"He's absolutely perfect, Mrs. Jackson." she smiled reassuringly.

I sighed in relief and leaned back on the hospital bed. I closed my eyes, listening to the small but steady heartbeat.

A knock on the door made me look towards it. Janet and my dad walked in quietly.

"I think we're all done here," the nurse said. "If you need anything just press the button above your head."

I nodded and she left, leaving me with my dad and best friend.

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry about this." dad apologized, taking a seat next to my bed.

I shook my head, "Dad, don't be ridiculous."

Janet also had an apologetic expression on.

"Guys, I'm fine, really. It was just a weak moment." I said, sitting up.

I got dizzy for a brief second but shook it off.

"Michael's coming back with Brandon. They should be on a plane by now." she said.

"No, why? This is nothing, don't make him come back just for this."

"Brooke, you passed out, I had to call them. I don't want to know how Michael would react if he accidentally found out about this."

Dad cleared his throat. "He has to be here, sweetheart. How's my grandson?"

"The nurse said he's doing great. His mother just has to be a bit more careful with what she does." I sighed.

He gave me a smile and kissed my hand.

"Is Marie here?" I questioned.

"Yeah, she's waiting with the rest of the family." Janet told me.

"Could you call her, please? I have to talk to her." I said, putting a hand on my baby bump just to feel that it's there.

"Sweetheart, I don't think you need that right now."

"Dad, I need to talk to her after what you told me."

"No, what you need right now is rest," Janet's voice was stern. "I don't know what happened, but I do know it's why you're here."

I scoffed and looked at my dad with a look I knew he couldn't resist. It always helped me get things when I was little.

"Fine, I'll go get her." he murmured, standing up.

"Thank you, daddy." I smiled.

Janet looked at me with disapproval as he left the room.

"You're unbelievable." she rolled her eyes.

"Jan, I have to speak with my mother. I need to understand things from her."

"But that doesn't need to come at the expense of your health. Should I remind you that this is a risky pregnancy? Michael would be freaking out if he knew about this."

"Will he know?" I raised my eyebrows.

She groaned, "I guess not."

The door opened again and in came dad and Marie.

"I'll go call Michael." Janet said on her way out.

"Brooklyn, honey, are you alright?" Marie asked worriedly and hugged me. "Oh, God, I was so worried."

I was surprised, but still gave her a light squeeze.

I never imagined how the first hug with my mother would be, but it felt refreshing.

"I'm good, Marie." I answered.

She pulled away and smiled. I returned a small smile.

I turned to my father, "Dad, can you leave us alone?"

He nodded and kissed my forehead before stepping out.

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes until Marie spoke.

"So he told you?" she whispered.

"Yeah... I have one question, though. Was it worth it?" I said.

"You have no idea. The places I've been, the people I met..."

I felt the tears in my eyes when I thought of her living her life while we were growing up without her.

"Oh, Brooklyn, don't cry. I'm here now, I'm finally ready to be your mother... I know what you think of me, but I want to fix it. You have to understand, I was young. I couldn't commit to the family life at that point. That's why I tried coming back ten years ago, but your father seemed like he wasn't ready for us to continue just yet. Believe me when I say that I love you so much, I always did. And I want to be this baby's grandmother, I want to help you raise him." Marie said, catching my falling tears.

"How can you love me when you don't even know me?" I asked a bit too darkly.

"Three years is enough to know your child... You'll know soon." she smiled, placing her hand on top of mine that was still on my stomach.

"You know," I said, the darkness still not leaving my voice. "When I think about it, you leaving was the best thing that's happened to me."

"Oh." she frowned and let go of my hand.

I then realized my hormones were taking over again.

"Marie, I'm sorry... I didn't mean it to come out like that. You leaving made dad move to California. If that wouldn't have happened, I wouldn't have met Janet. I wouldn't have met Michael..."

"Do you love him? Michael?"

I raised my eyebrows at her question.

"Of course I do, Marie. With all my heart," I said loud and clear.
"Why? Don't you love dad?"

She sighed deeply, looking down.

"I love him, I do... I'm just not in love with him."

"So why are you back?"

"Joshua said he wants me to be there for you and Chris when he dies."

My breath was caught in my throat when I thought of my dad dying, and I felt like I was going to faint again.

Marie noticed, so she pressed the button above me. She held my hand tightly as she tried to help me breathe correctly.

Two nurses came in and asked my mother to leave the room, but she refused.

My vision started blurring soon, which made me breathe faster.

An oxygen mask was put on my face and helped to get some air into my lungs.

"Mrs. Jackson, you have to take a few deep breaths," one of the nurses said vaguely. "You're making your baby's heartbeat slower."

That instantly made me take one deep breath in. A few more came afterwards with the guide of the nurses and everything was back to normal.

"Good, keep it up." the curly haired nurse rubbed my shoulder.

She lowered my bed so I would be laying down a bit, then checked a few more things and left.

Marie hurried to return to her place next to my bed.

"Jesus, that was so scary," she took my hand. "Are you okay now?"

I nodded slightly and closed my eyes, just dreading to get some sleep as I felt my powers disappear.

~

6th of December, 1996
Brooklyn and Janet are 30, Michael is 38

Janet: I was cramped up next to Jermaine on the little sofa inside the hospital room.

Everyone was sleeping except for Joshua and I. He sat next to Brooke's bed and held her hand tight.

I couldn't close my eyes. I was so afraid something might happen to her if I fell asleep. I just didn't want to take the chance of not being there again.

Suddenly the door opened, making everyone jump, except for Brooke who was in a deep sleep.

Michael and Brandon came in quietly. Joshua gave my brother his seat quickly.

My husband came to me and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

"Is she okay?" he whispered.

"For now." I sighed, pulling him into a tight hug. His strong arms wrapped around me protectively.

I noticed Michael was holding back his tears as he caressed Brooklyn's arm lightly. He intertwined their fingers and kissed her knuckles.

It never stopped to amaze me how much my brother loved her. How much they loved each other, with all the crap they've been through.

But it was always like this, even before they were dating. They both always told me how much they enjoyed their dance lessons, and how amazing the other is.

Somehow they always made each other happy.

To be honest, I was always envious of their love. I mean, Brandon and I love each other dearly, and I do believe he's my soulmate, but there was something about Michael's relationship with my best friend that made it magical.

Brandon kissed my cheek, "Do you want to go home?"

"I can't, I'm afraid something will happen to her and I won't be here to help," I said into his ear. "But a good cuddle wouldn't hurt anybody."

He chuckled silently then sat next to Jermaine instead of me. I sat on his lap and curled up against his body.

Soon I fell asleep, while feeling protected, totally forgetting about wanting to stay up.

~

Michael: Someone pulled on my hair gently.

I opened my eyes to see the hospital floor and realized I fell asleep.

Looking up, I met Brooklyn's smiling face.

I got up to hug her. All of my worries instantly went away.

"What the hell happened?" I asked.

"Nothing, I got too stressful." she answered into my shoulder.

"What made you stress out?"

"I'll explain later. I just want you here for now."

I sat back down and studied her tired face.

I put a hand on her bump, rubbing it a bit, "How's my baby boy?"

"Great. His mommy's just messed up." my wife said.

I rolled my eyes.

"You know what this means, right? Mommy has to be more careful." I told her and leaned down to kiss her belly.

Little kicks that were felt through the hospital robe she wore made me grin.

"So how long are you staying for this time?" Brooke questioned.

"Until after Christmas. Frank pissed me off so I told him to cancel everything." I mumbled.

"Mike, no, you can't do that! There are millions of fans waiting to see you!" she scoffed.

"You're more important. This baby and your health are my first priorities."

"Then stay for a few days, but that's it. I am not letting you stop tour because of me."

I ignored her and kept trying to feel our son.

"We have to talk about names." I tried changing the subject.

My wife groaned loudly, "Oh, no, you are not avoiding me on this. You will get up right now and call Frank. Tell him you're coming back in five days."

Once again I ignored her. I could tell she was starting to lose her patience.

"Why do you have to be so loud? Damn it, Mike, stop pissing her off." Jermaine whined from the back of the room.

I ignored him too.

"Michael Joseph Jackson, get your ass up right now. The first rule of being married to a pregnant lady is never make her mad. You do not want to see me mad, I promise you." Brooklyn said.

"You really don't." Janet told me.

I turned my attention back to my wife and nodded. "Fine. But I'm not in for this at all."

She smiled then kissed me.

"Good. You know it's not fair to your fans. Now go call Frank."

I saluted, "Sir, yes, sir!"

She pushed my shoulder but I could tell she found it funny.

I made sure to kiss her cheek before taking Brandon's phone.

~

8th of December, 1996
Brooklyn and Janet are 30, Michael is 38

Brooklyn: Two days later, I got discharged from the hospital. Dr. James paid us a visit yesterday and gave new instructions for the rest of the pregnancy.

No leaving the house, no standing up when it isn't necessary. Basically I couldn't do anything until the baby's born.

Michael had an outburst when he found out I went to my dad's house and that's what caused me to pass out. He screamed at Janet for letting me go there.

To say it wasn't a pretty sight isn't enough. Poor Janet.

We calmed him down and I explained to him why Janet and I were arguing.

And I told him what my dad told me. It took him time to process the entire story, then he asked if I'm planning to forgive Marie.

I didn't give him an answer because I didn't know it.

I wanted to forgive my mother, but a small voice kept creeping in and telling me that no matter the cause, she still left me. It was her who wanted my dad to take her virginity.

Action have consequences.

"Babe, what are you thinking about?" Michael asked.

I turned my head to see his curious eyes.

"My mother." I answered.

"What about your mother?" he said, pulling me into his arms.

We were in bed, because I wasn't allowed to do anything. I knew I would get tired of this soon, but what could I do?

"I want to forgive her... I'm just not sure I can yet."

"Give it a little thought. You don't have to forgive her right away."

"I know. I just want to. She told me she loves me. I never thought I'd here that from her... And we hugged. After almost twenty-eight years I got the first hug from my mother." I sighed.

He was about to respond, but a knock on our bedroom door stopped him.

Michael groaned and got up. I watched as he opened the door.

Lisa Marie smiled at him. They hugged slightly, then he let her in.

I sat up so I could hug her properly and squeezed her tight.

"I wanted to come to the hospital, but Janet said family only." she said.

"It's okay. It was boring there anyway, I don't think you would've enjoyed it."

"Where is Janet?" Lisa raised an eyebrow.

"She's home until Michael goes back to tour. I wanted her to have a little break from all this pregnancy madness." I told her.

I could tell that made her happy. Her and Janet despised each other, and I was in the middle of it all.

I mean as my best friend and... Friend, they should get along.

"Aww, you two hugging warms my heart." Michael wiped fake tears.

"Michael, shut up." I murmured.

Lisa laughed, "Why don't we spend time together? The kids have been begging me to take them to the pool all week, maybe we could go swimming. It's a beautiful day."

"Brooke isn't allowed to get out of bed."

"Oh, come on, Mike. Don't you remember Dr. James said that swimming is good for the baby? I won't move around too much..." I begged, giving him my best puppy face.

"Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Lisa joined in.

My husband stood there with his arms folded. I knew he was going to crack sooner or later because he couldn't resist this.

"Fine." he huffed, rolling his eyes.

"Yay! I'll go get the kids ready!" Lisa chirped and left.

I smirked when Michael turned to me with an unamused expression on.

"You're only being a sour puss because you can't go in with us," I said, trying to get up. "Now come help me pick a swimsuit."

Ever since yesterday I felt like the baby gained more weight.

Michael had his hands on my hips as he guided me to my closet room.

"So... A bikini or a one piece?" I questioned, opening my swimsuit drawer.

"Definitely a bikini, so you could show off this beautiful thing." he smiled and placed his hands on my bump.

"A one piece it is." I teased.

"Ugh, stop being a party pooper. Just wear the bikini. I won't let you in if you don't..."

I scoffed, hitting his arm.

"Ow. But I'm serious." he said. Michael hurried to step out so I could dress.

"I'm inviting Jason over to join Lisa's kids!" he informed from the bedroom.

I looked at the red bikini I had bought in Rio and decided to go for it.

~

"A bikini? Really?" Lisa whispered as she helped me into the pool.

"Michael made me wear it." I mumbled.

If I didn't complain about feeling fat until now, then this definitely would make me start.

"Men, all the same." she commented and looked at Michael who was taking a seat on a chair in the shade.

Lisa and I sat on the stairs and I leaned back on my arms.

The water was nice, just like the weather. Surprisingly, it was sunny today.

"Mommy, look at me!" Benjamin screamed and jumped into the pool.

"Go Ben!" I heard Michael cheer and saw him clap.

"Hey, Michael," Lisa called. "Did Brooke tell you about the name she chose for the baby?"

He shook his head and darted towards us.

"You choose a name and you don't tell me?" he sounded offended.

"I wanted to tell you at Christmas," I sighed and looked at Lisa who had an apologetic look on her face. "But since it's already out... We're naming him after you, Mike. Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr."

His eyes lit up instantly, "Really?"

I nodded, which made him help me out of the pool and hug me.

"Michael, I'm getting you wet." I said.

He kissed my lips to shut me up.

"No, not the kissing again! Uncle Mike!" I heard Jason's whines and turned to him.

He had blue swim shorts on, his dirty blonde hair was messed up a bit.

"Oh, my God, auntie Brooke you look like a whale with legs."

Everyone laughed at what he said, except for me.

"Very funny, Jase." I scoffed, getting back into the pool.

"It was funny!" my nephew said and got into the pool as well.

The rest of the day was spent watching movies in the theater with everyone.

At the end of it I even got a warm bath with my husband, and a massage, of course.